Monday, February 12, 2007

Peanut Butter & Jelly "Pop Hearts"

Happy Valentine's Day! Here's a treat to make for your own little sweethearts this Wednesday: Peanut Butter & Jelly "Pop Hearts". Start with a batch of Easy Pie Crust from Vegan Lunch Box, either the white or half-whole wheat version. Roll the pie crust out on a floured surface and cut into hearts using a 4-inch cookie cutter. Place one heart on a baking sheet lined with sprayed parchment paper. Dab a spoonful of nut butter into the center of the heart and top with a spoonful of your favorite fruit spread or jam. Spread out the butter and jam using the back of a spoon, leaving a half inch of space all around the edges. Brush the edges with cold water and top with another heart. Press the edges together and crimp all around with a fork. Bake at 400ºF for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.

When the Pop Hearts are cool, decorate with any favorite icing or frosting (powdered sugar mixed with lemon juice or nondairy milk makes an easy, quick icing). These can be warmed up in a toaster oven or oven, but I fear the frosting would make a mess in a regular toaster. Makes about 10 4-inch Pop Hearts.

I also showed lunchy love today with radish rosettes, a yellow heart filled with Vegenaise and dill for dipping, strawberries dipped in melted vegan white chocolate and rolled in coconut, and a bottle of vanilla soymilk.

Verdict: I love Valentine's Day; it's a great excuse to pull out the hearts and get all cutesy. Shmoo liked this version of the pb&j and ate up everything quick as a wink. I am now madly in love with the radish rosette and have been garnishing everything with them. The combination of strawberries, coconut, and vegan white chocolate is luscious. 5 stars.

33 comments:

That lunch looks so amazing! I had never even thought about trying to make vegan Pop-Tarts! (okay, I'll admit. I hate them. In my pregan days, I thought they were the most disgusting thing ever.) Vegan pop-tarts, however, are infinitely appealing. The radish rosettes are so lovely, and those chocolate covered strawberries are making me drool. Where did you get that heart-shaped container for the Veganaise? I don't know if I'd ever use it, but it's just so adorable.

I post a lunch each Monday because that's when I have the most time to work on the computer, but I usually make the lunches in advance. It's easier for me that way now that we're homeschooling most of the week.

Natural and organic pizza franchise giving back to the environment with eco-friendly operations

Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Monday, February 12, 2007 – Pizza Fusion (www.pizzafusion.com), a new natural and organic pizza franchise, is taking environmental protection into their own hands with an Earth friendly approach to all of their operations. From the creation of their organic food menu to its delivery to the consumer in company owned hybrid vehicles, every aspect of Pizza Fusion was designed to preserve and improve the environment.

“Today, there are too many companies taking from the Earth without giving back. We want to change that,” Michael Gordon, co-proprietor of Pizza Fusion, explains. “Pizza Fusion was founded in the best interest of the environment and the individual. By serving healthy, organic food with a commitment to the preservation of our fragile ecosystem, we hope to set an example for others to follow.”

Pizza Fusion’s environmental efforts include using only eco-friendly cleaners to sanitize their stores, providing eco-apparel, such as organic cotton uniforms, to their employees, using recycled products whenever possible and recycling their wastes. Even the company’s website is hosted by a ‘Green Web Hosting’ service provider that uses renewable energy wind power to offset the energy usage of their servers.

Pizza Fusion offers a variety of sandwiches, wraps, salads, desserts, beer and wine all made with the freshest, all natural and organic ingredients. However, their specialty is organic, gourmet pizza available with a variety of unique toppings, such as Wild Caught Key West Shrimp, New York Strip Steak, Proscuitto, Portobello Mushrooms, Artichokes and Arugula (to name a few). Pizza Fusion also serves a Multigrain Crust as a carb-conscious alternative.

Founders Michael Gordon and Vaughan Lazar took their appreciation for the pie one step further to allow individuals afflicted with food allergies or following selective diets to enjoy their organic pizza menu. By offering gluten-free crust, sufferers of Celiac’s Disease can indulge at Pizza Fusion. For their lactose intolerant friends they offer ‘Follow Your Heart’ Soy Mozzarella (containing no casein) which is also a favorite of the Vegan community and is a key ingredient in Pizza Fusion’s ‘Very Vegan Pizza’.

About Pizza FusionFounded by college buddies Michael Gordon and Vaughan Lazar in February of 2006, Pizza Fusion offers an all-natural and organic menu of gourmet pizzas, sandwiches, wraps, salads, desserts, beers, wines and more. Pizza Fusion addresses the needs of today’s health conscious consumer with concern for both the individual and environment. By promoting the organic movement and practicing an eco-friendly approach in all operations of the company, Pizza Fusion is ‘Saving the Earth, One Pizza at a Time’. Based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Pizza Fusion is expanding franchises across the United States. For additional information, visit: www.pizzafusion.com.

Just the thought of biting into a heart-shaped pie crust pocket filled with nut butter and tasty jam is making me feel weak. And then a chocolate dipped, coconut coated strawberry to top it off?! (sigh) You're killing me, Jennifer! :D

Those PopHearts look delicious! I do have a question about reheating them. You mentioned the toaster oven and the oven, but if you don't have access to one of those, will a Wretched Radiation Device work? I do know that the Exxon down the street has a sign about reheating Krispy Kreme (no more than eight seconds otherwise the doughnut explodes), but I don't know if that'd work for this. Any ideas?

Oh, microwave? Gosh, we don't have one so I didn't really think about it. I would say it would probably be fine if only nuked for a few seconds. But I would worry first about exploding the Pop Heart, because the center is sealed. Second, I would worry that the jam in the middle would be burning hot. So go easy.

It looks amazing. Up to your standards! I love that you have alternatives to eggs and dairy etc. My parents don't eat eggs and a lot of cheeses, so these are cool treats my sister and I can make for them!Thanks...

Hi Jennifer!! LOVE the pop heart idea. I'm going to make them for breakfast tomorrow! Question-- I am planning a "dinner for two" for my boyfriend and I tomorrow night. He is a carnivore so I am planning to try making your mini wellingtons so that he gets something sort of meat-ish. However, 12 is a ot for us even for leftovers so I'm wondering if the recipe will halve easily or what the proportions for a full-sized wellington would be. Or do you have a btter suggestion for a "meaty" entree we could share?

>>Do you think I could make a bunch of them and then freeze them for later use?

Yes, I think they would freeze well in individual baggies, so you can pull them out and eat them later. I haven't frozen them myself, so let me know how it goes.

>>Question-- I am planning a "dinner for two" for my boyfriend and I tomorrow night. He is a carnivore so I am planning to try making your mini wellingtons so that he gets something sort of meat-ish. However, 12 is a ot for us even for leftovers so I'm wondering if the recipe will halve easily or what the proportions for a full-sized wellington would be.

Yes, the recipe can easily be halved. Wellingtons also freeze well, so you could always freeze some for later. Enjoy your Valentine's!

I found your blog last night (by way of a post about Make a Magical Loaf, referencing your blog, on http://bakingsheet.blogspot.com -- in case you like to know how people find your blog!) and have enjoyed reading your current and archived posts . . . so much so that I ordered myself a copy of your cookbook =).

My son and I are both looking forward to using some of the ideas we saw here on your blog (he peered over my shoulder when I was ooh'ing and aah'ing over the lunchbox photos and he decided that he'd like to try some of the food ideas too -- to say that's a big decision on his part is an understatement!).

Continued success with your cookbook sales, and thanks for continuing to share your ideas with the rest of us out here in blogdomland.

Stopped by Cost Plus today and they had a (melamime) tiffin box!! When I brought it home my 16 year old told me that his history teacher brings his lunch to school everyday in an antique Turkish one that is held together with it's utensils! (This plastic one is neat, but one of these days I'll order a pretty shiny one like yours)